The Get Up Kids: Something to Write Home About
Posted on 18. Sep, 2009 by Author in Music
The Get Up Kids
Something to Write Home About
Vagrant
1999 sucked. Some trench coat-wearing winners shot up their high school. Woodstock was burnt down in a disgusting demonstration of oxymoronic violence. Brittney, Christina and the Backstreet Boys dominated the charts and it seemed that punk rock was taking the rest of the decade off. Ten years later, The Get Up Kids have decided to remind you that emo and punk were very much alive by reissuing their debut effort for Vagrant Records as a 10th anniversary CD/DVD celebration. Something to Write Home [...]
Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats: Meet the Meatbats
Posted on 17. Sep, 2009 by Author in Album Review, Music
Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats
Meet the Meatbats
Warrior
The Meatbats provide Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith with another side project besides looking eerily like Will Ferrell. The band’s sense of humor is evident in both the quirky song titles and playful riffs and rhythms. The Meatbats’ music highlights lefty guitarist Jeff Kollman, who employs a variety of guitar tones, with changing and adapting riffs. Ed Roth’s tinkling keys serve as a modest counterpart to Kollman’s guitar: providing an atmosphere for the guitar to drizzle notes against. The funky instrumentalism of “Tops Off†is [...]
Chali 2na: Fish Outta Water
Posted on 17. Sep, 2009 by Author in Album Review, Music
Chali 2na
Fish Outta Water
Decon
For those of you saddened by the break-up of Jurassic 5, you can rejoice because Chali 2na has re-emerged with his debut solo album, and it’s easily as good as any of his former group’s records. Chali 2na, the “friendly neighborhood baritone,†is perhaps the most recognizable voice of J5, and on his debut he largely plays to his strengths. On “Comin’ Thru†Chali bounces between singing and rapping over a guitar-based funk beat reminiscent of classic J5. The album makes a slight misstep with “So Crazy,†[...]
Children, “Hard Times Hanging At The End Of The World”
Posted on 16. Sep, 2009 by Author in Album Review, Music
Children
Hard Times Hanging At The End Of The World
Kemado
Someone throw a guitar through a fucking amp— Children are smashing it up! Ripped up guitar riffs and adrenaline pumping solos make for one of the best metal bands in our day. Iron Maiden immediately came to mind right off the bat with the fresh and clean yet balls-to-the-wall style of the first track, “Advanced Mind Control,†and God we’ve been without fresh talent with that kind of sound for too damn long. Then there’s the haunting classical guitar cut, “H.T.H.A.T.E.O.T.W,†that [...]
The Intelligence, “Fake Surfers”
Posted on 15. Sep, 2009 by Author in Album Review, Music
The Intelligence
Fake Surfers
In the Red
Fake Surfers, the fourth LP from Lars Finberg’s The Intelligence, is a step back from their overloaded sharp distortion tendencies, but not without leaving a smidge in just for flavor. This album is crunchy, groovy and filled with ‘60s pop spunk, especially with the bass line in “Warm Transfers.†My fave, “Moody Tower,” is a rocked out swingin’ trip with a melody any go-go dancer could get down with. Then Lars gets out a bit of angst with his drummer’s other band, Eat Skull, in “Fuck [...]
Adventureland
Posted on 14. Sep, 2009 by Author in Album Review, Film
Adventureland
Miramax
DVD – Rated R
Adventureland is two parts bittersweet love story and one part oddball comedy. When James Brennan graduates college, his life becomes a series of missed ring tosses. Instead of going on a trip to Europe, Brennan is forced to work at an amusement park to make ends meet. The film capitalizes on the inherent oddity of such a place, playing up the rigged games and ridiculous prizes. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig have rather flat bits as park managers. Brennan meets Em, Adventureland’s “girl with issues,†and is [...]
Nurses, “Apple’s Acre”
Posted on 14. Sep, 2009 by Author in Album Review, Music
Nurses
Apple’s Acre
Dead Oceans
Portland, Oregon’s Nurses have drawn up an admirable plan of attack for their Dead Oceans debut, Apple’s Acre. Album opener “Technicolor” follows many formulas in which successful hipsters and indie bands bordering legitimate stature adhere to—glossy keyboards, swirling synthesizer effects and minimal drumming with three-part reverb laden (of course) vocal harmonies that are both well-done and highly dramatized. Songs like “Mile After Mile” and “Man At Arms” are very reminiscent of The Shins Oh, Inverted World or any Band of Horses material, making these tracks undeniably captivating, but [...]
Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen By Richard Crouse
Posted on 14. Sep, 2009 by Author in Album Review, Film, Literature
Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen
By Richard Crouse
ECW
“I chose these movies not with an eye toward impressing other film critics with my depth of knowledge or ability to dig up obscurities, but with the goal of binding together 100 personal choices that I think are worth a second and third look.†With these introductory words, film critic Richard Crouse sets out again to uncover the overlooked gems of cinema in Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, which is a follow up to his 2003 [...]
